Re: What about plastic pigs?

[Quang Le <quangle@SLAC.Stanford.EDU>]

Steve,
You are right. What you proposed below is certainly feasible. However, I
think it's not being done because of economic reasons. I can't talk for
any of the vendors. But having worked for one of them until just
recently, I can tell you that it's not economically beneficial (let's not
get into "saving-the-environment" cost at this time but just
look at REAL cost TODAY). Everything you proposed costs, whether it's in
time, space or real $.
What you proposed makes technical sense but not business sense.


<<<Do any vendors Amersham, NEN, etc. take back the plastic pigs
(?) used to ship radioactive research material to research labs. Our
labs here have these things piling up on top of their refrigerators by
the score because they're not quite sure qhat to do with them. Of 
course I tell them that they can deface them and put them in their 
solid waste containers. But in this age of recycling products, it 
seems such a waste (pun intended). Why won't the vendors take 
them back. I mean, if they're used to ship short lived isotopes, they
can just let them sit to decay in case they're contaminated, can't 
they? If it's H3, can't they just throw them in a dishwasher to wash
of the residual contamination? I suppose they would then have to 
sample the waste water periodically to report a sewage disposal 
amount, but surely it couldn't be THAT much. It would seem to me 
to be a way to save a little bit of money for them. Maybe even they 
could have some sort of "S&H" stamp program like
"return 500 
plastic vials and receive 250uCi P-32 orthophosphate FREE!" 
Steve Grimm 
ARSO 
Radiation Safety Office 
Crawford Long Hospital 
(404)686-1426; pgr. 404-837-5612>>>

        

_____________________________________________________________________
Quang Le 
SLAC/OHP 
(650) 926-2610 
(650) 849-9559 - pager 
<quangle@slac.stanford.edu> 
Note: The above is my own opinion only!

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